INTRODUCTION: As prevalence of HIV-1 among drug users in Spain is high and it is difficult to contact them because of their hidden behaviors, emergency rooms are one of the health facilities where they can be located....
详细信息
INTRODUCTION: As prevalence of HIV-1 among drug users in Spain is high and it is difficult to contact them because of their hidden behaviors, emergency rooms are one of the health facilities where they can be located. A cross-sectional interview study was planned. The aims of the study were to estimate prevalence of HIV-1 and to describe risk behaviors. METHODS: The sample included all patients that in spring 1992 were detected and referred by the doctor as being current opiate users, defined as any use in the 30 days prior the interview. Drug users who did not know their HIV status or were negative for more than six months were asked to provide a urine sample to test HIV serology. A descriptive analysis with simple stratification was carried out. Row and adjusted odds ratio were used to analyse association between different variables and HIV status. Logistic regression was used to examine variables associated with HIV infection and risk behaviors (injecting drug use, sharing needles, and no use of condom). RESULTS: Three hundred and eighty three opiate users were interviewed. It was possible to know HIV status of 94% of the subjects. Of them, 61% were positive (219). The best adjusted logistic model to predict associated variables with HIV included being female, primary school level, sickness absence, to attend because of organic pathology, and more years of parenteral use. Seventy five percent of the sample injected drugs during the past 30 days, and among them 30% shared syringes. The variables associated with a higher probability of having injected heroin or cocaine in the last 30 days were to have completed at least primary education, to be unemployed or reliant on illegal activities, not to be in drug treatment, and a larger number of drugs used in the last 30 days. A higher probability of sharing syringes was associated with a lower educational level, not to be in drug treatment, to live alone and a higher number of drugs used during last 30 days. Twenty one
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HIV infection and risk-taking behavior for infection among intravenous drug users in Madrid, Seville, and Valencia (Spain). To study the main factors associated with such beha...
详细信息
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HIV infection and risk-taking behavior for infection among intravenous drug users in Madrid, Seville, and Valencia (Spain). To study the main factors associated with such behavior. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Personal interviews were carried out with 821 intravenous drug users recruited in 1994 and 1995 among recent participants in three needle-exchange programs. Subjects were asked about their risk-taking behavior in the 30 days preceding the interview. Bivariate statistical methods and logistical regression techniques were used. RESULTS: In the month before the interview, 13.8% of the subjects in Valencia, 18.1% in Madrid, and 26.9% in Seville used needles that had been used by other people, usually (73-88%) without disinfecting them effectively. Condom use during the reference period was 50% in Seville, 42.5% in Madrid, and 34.2% in Valencia. The prevalence of HIV infection ranged from 30.1% in Seville to 43. 2% in Madrid. Multivariate analysis showed that the factors most closely associated with accepting used needles were: needle sharing (OR = 12.2), residence in Seville (OR = 6.6), and HIV positivity (OR = 4.6). The factors most closely associated with not using condoms systematically were: ignorance of personal HIV serological state (OR = 4.1), needle sharing (OR = 3.7), and HIV negativity (OR = 3.3). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of HIV transmission among intra-venous drug users in Spain is high (infection and risk-taking behavior have a high prevalence), so programs designed to reduce this risk should be increased quickly.
暂无评论